Vulkan in Turkey
Commercial shipbuilding and superyacht supplier Vulkan Group (including Vulkan Couplings, Vulkan Drive Tech, Vulkan Lokring and SeaCom) has established a 100% subsidiary in Turkey: ‘Vulkan Turkey Mühendislik, Denizcilik ve San.Ürünleri Tic.Ltd.Sti.’ After having been successfully represented by a Turkish distributor for many years, Vulkan now strengthens its sales activities in this region.
The company is reacting to the economic growth of this country and the favourable development in the Turkish shipbuilding industry. The new subsidiary is strategically located in Instanbul. An enormous increase in the order book since 2008 has moved Turkey forward to become one among the top ten of the world’s shipbuilding nations. In the middle between the European specialists and the big in East Asia a lucrative niche opened up for the country at the Bosporus. In contrast to the mega-yards in Japan, Korea and China, Turkey stands out for its huge number of small and medium-sized shipyards.
Growing Industry
Vulkan reports that between 2002 and 2008 further 37 yards have been added to the already existing 30. During the boom the construction of numerous yards has been started. There are currently 69 yards in operation, 57 further are being planned or built. The production capacity increased from 550.000 dead weight tonnage (DWT) to 3,41 Mio. DWT, the number of employees from 13,545 to 33,480. “So in the long run, by establishing the new subsidiary we will meet the increasing demands with regard to consulting services and support in a growing market”, explains managing director of the Group, Sebastian Hackforth.
Diverse Products
“Vulkan Turkey will not only offer products for the marine propulsion market but also the Vulkan products and services for the refrigeration and air-conditioning technology”, he continues. The Turkish Vulkan base will not only sell Vulkan Couplings products like highly flexible couplings, composite shafts, elastic mounts and dampers for ship propulsion and generators but also the Vulkan Lokring solder-free tube connection technology for refrigerant lines.
Local Knowledge
The new managing director of Vulkan Turkey, Kagan Hasircioglu, was previously chief engineer and responsible for different vessels and has many years of experience in the shipbuilding industry. “Vulkan has already a very good reputation in Turkey. But with the establishment of Vulkan Turkey the local customers will benefit from the local market knowledge of our employees and from the stronger link to the internationally operating Vulkan Group”, says Hasircioglu.